When Khayyam got scared of 'Pakeezah'!

Mumbai, Feb 19: Legendary music composer Khayyam, who turned 86 recently, recalled how he was scared while composing music for one of his biggest hits "Umrao Jaan" after the super success of film "Pakeezah".

Both the films had a similar theme, as the stories revolved around a Lucknow courtesan. While "Pakeezah" released 1972, Muzaffar Ali's "Umrao Jaan" released 1981. The music of both the films is celebrated till today.

"'Umrao Jaan' was a subject which already had 'Pakeezah' in front of it, a big hit. Maker Kamal Amrohi saab, Meena Kumari as heroine, Ashok Kumar and Rajkumar saab, music by Ghulam Mohammad was super duper hit. I was a bit scared about what will happen," Khayyam, who celebrated his birthday Monday, said here in an interview.

"I was scared about what will I do now, people have heard everything in 'Pakeezah'," he added.

Khayyam says reading about Umrao Jaan helped him compose the music.

"Then I started reading the history, how 'Umrao Jaan' became such a big singer, she was a brilliant dancer and she also did poetry," the composer said.

Khayyam is known for his compositions in films like "Aakhri Khat", "Kabhi Kabhie", "Noorie", "Thodi Si Bewafaai" among others.